Chiisai akai boushi
by Akaru-chan
Summary: [AU]In a clichéd fairytale verse village, Naruto was just another delivery girl. On an errand to deliver a basket to an old woman who lived in the Forests of Death, Naruto was unfortunate enough to encounter the werewolf Sasuke. [Twoshot SasuNaru]


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto, nor Charles Perrault's version of Little Red Riding Hood.

Summary:

AU In a clichéd fairytale-verse village, Naruto was just another delivery girl who worked for the local postal service. On an errand to deliver a basket to an old woman who lived in the Forests of Death, Naruto was unfortunate enough to encounter the werewolf, with no woodcutter nearby.

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* * *

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**Chiisai akai boushi  
**Little Red Riding Hood

Once upon a time, in the little village of Konohagakure, there had lived a little blonde girl named Naruto, who, like most little blonde girls of the stereotypical patriarchal society, were disregarded and despised as useless, and merely accidents in the backseat of a coach after a heavily intoxicated night at the local inn.

This particular blonde girl had not been exempt from the usual tendentious opinions, and it had not helped that she was a burdensome orphan.

After all, orphan girls were only useful when a wealthy lord rode by and would fall dumb for her ethereal beauty.

But as Naruto-chan was not a ravishing golden-haired maiden like Yamanaka Ino, or gifted at stitching intricate embroidery like Haruno Sakura, or meek and docile like Hyuuga Hinata, Naruto could only become a plain messenger-girl who would stand-in when the village postman was unable to deliver the mail after being viciously attacked by the Inuzuka's family dog on an unfortunate delivery trip.

After all, that's all that orphan girls do, except perhaps become mindless slaves for their evil stepfamily until a Prince Charming would happen to hold a ball on some spoony, dreamy night in the far unlikely future.

But no such luck could possibly ever befall upon Naruto, and content with her walrus sleeping cap that looked as if it was devouring her head, Naruto never said anything less about it.

In fact, she was rather content with her job: one delivery trip around Konoha paid her enough money to buy a large bowl of ramen, and a delivery trip into the forests of Konoha would give her enough to buy a week's supply.

So Naruto was hardly fazed when the news arrived that Prince Neji would be riding through Konoha within the next week for his regular - or, more accurately - once-in-a-lifetime official visit.

And as fast as the village gossip travelled, it was no surprise that that the whole village knew about it only ten minutes after the village courier returned from the royal courts with the newscast.

As royal princes were of a higher status and prosperity than lords, there was a mad dash of every mother and daughter towards the dress tailor, that the said man had to refuge in his cellar while the rampaging women raged through his store for a gown that was suitable for either herself or her daughter.

The only advantage to this chaotic state of affairs, was that within that short period of time, there was a noticeable rise in profits for the village tailor and shoemaker.

And because that local village economy was a tight financial network, for that same reason, the mail-order service's profits had soared to an amount that was probably higher than their annual income, and that meant more ramen for Naruto, but it also meant more work.

So on another busy day at the Konoha Post headquarters, watching packages and parcels going in and out of the post office in quick succession, Naruto waited impatiently for her next errand, alternating between watching the door for new customers and shooting heated glares at the painfully oblivious Kakashi who was sitting by the cash register, hidden behind another paperback volume of 'Icha Icha Paradise'.

And judging by his giggles and blushes, he wasn't going to come out of the book any time soon.

Naruto frowned. The book couldn't be that interesting. Kakashi said that she wasn't allowed to read it, saying that she'll have to wait until she was 'old enough', which she suspected wasn't until she could petition for a pensioner's concession card.

Naruto shifted on her wooden stool and glared at Kakashi. If looks could kill, then the book would have had been burnt into a crisp and Kakashi would be buried miles underground. Her co-workers Shikamaru and Chouji had left with weighted bags of dress orders to deliver to the addresses - namely the Haruno and Yamanaka residences. Naruto had long finished her share of work, and her lunch break wasn't for another two hours.

A little girl tapped on the counter haughtily. She wore a lacy blue frock under a glaringly bright red cape that made Naruto's eyes water.

"Hello hello?"

Naruto popped a vein and glared indignantly at the little girl. Her voice was equally as haughty as her habits. Who did she think she was?

Kakashi peered from over the top of his book.

"Hello!" His visible eye curved into a crescent. "How may I help you today?"

"I wanted to wait for Prince Neji so he can meet me and fall in love with me and then we can get married and I can become a princess." The girl said, trying to sound as aristocratic as she could. "But mama wanted me to deliver these onigiri and dango to my grandmother, but I can't do that in case the Prince might come here while I'm away. I will have you to send these to my grandmother while I prepare for the Prince's arrival." She lugged an oversized hamper onto the counter.

Kakashi nodded understandingly. "And where might your grandmother live?"

"In a little cottage in the Forests of Death." she quoted. "My mama says that you have to follow the path … otherwise the monsters will come and eat you."

Naruto snorted. "There's no such thing as monsters."

The girl glared at Naruto. "Of course there is. _Everyone_ knows that there are all sorts of monsters in the woods. My grandfather, the great Jack, said that there was a giant who had climbed down from the sky by a giant beanstalk."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Jack who?"

"Jack of the Beanstalk." The girl said in a matter-of-a-fact voice.

"Jack of the _what_?" repeated Naruto incredulously. "Never heard of him."

The little girl wrinkled her nose at Naruto. "Of course _you _wouldn't." she said in an infuriatingly superior voice and looked contemptuously at Naruto's bright attire. Naruto's eye twitched. "My mama told me all about you. You're that stupid girl who always wears that ugly orange dress, and you can't even stitch your clothes properly. Mama says it's all because that you don't even have _parents_."

Blood rose quickly to Naruto's face as she leaped off the stool.

"That does it!" she screeched, stabbing her finger rudely at the little girl. "Take that back you bitch!"

Heads turned as they people stopped to look at the enraged blonde who was screaming profanities and promising bloody murder at the top of her lungs to the seemingly innocent girl.

Naruto was ready to kill if Kakashi hadn't whispered inconspicuously into her ear that yelling at the customers was bad business.

Reluctantly, Naruto forced herself back onto the stool, still fuming. Her face was bright red with indignation. She could feel her blood throbbing vehemently at her temples, and her shoulders were shaking with irrepressible fury.

"Well? What are you looking at?" she snapped at the staring audience, who quickly turned back around and acted as if nothing had happened.

How _dare_ she, Naruto ranted silently, seething. She glared at the little brat from the corner of her eyes. If Prince Neji ever fell in love with _her_, then she'd eat her own sleeping cap.

If Kakashi expected _her_ to deliver the basket to that little wench's grandmother, he'll have to think again.

"So, Naruto," began Kakashi as Naruto happily bid good riddance to the ugly red rag as it disappeared through the door and around the corner.

"Are you busy at the moment?"

* * *

Wolves are primarily nocturnal animals that tend to avoid the heat of day; choosing to sleep during the day and to hunt after dusk. 

And as a respectable young werewolf himself, Sasuke was hardly the type to loiter around the woods in the middle of the day when the sun was still up.

No, he _lurked _instead - which was a considerable difference considering the different connotations implied by the idioms.

So, as he was lurking in the gloomy shadows of the Forests of Death on a fine Saturday morning, hiding behind a conveniently placed bush, shrub or tree, he sulked - though he would much rather phrase it as 'angst'ed.

So what if had Kimimaro managed to get away with eating three pigs in their homes of straw, wood and brick?

So what if Itachi devoured seven little goat kids all by him last week?

So what if Kabuto had swallowed a goose alive right under the noses of the farmer's grandson Peter just the other day?

It didn't mean that _he _was any less villain-ish than the rest of them.

Sasuke scowled at a leaf. Simply because the other members of Big Bad Wolves Corporations™© were _older _(and maybe bigger as well), it didn't mean that they were _better_. Itachi was only five years older than Sasuke, and he was the apple of Father Wolf Orochimaru's eye.

And since Orochimaru didn't trust him enough with a _difficult_ mission, he was assigned with ambushing unsuspecting travellers that so happened to amble through the forest and then strip them of their food and money and then scurry back to the other wolves with the plunder.

There really weren't many encounters with human society lately. Even that old woman who lived with those seven dwarves in that cottage down the way didn't come out of her house very often, much to Sasuke's tedium-driven ire.

Orochimaru was getting more and more irritated lately, especially since Kimimaro had been unable to sit after the last encounter with the feisty pig in the brick house, and had been incapable of partaking in any more missions until his tail grew back. And as curious as Sasuke was, the silver-furred wolf refused to tell him how the fur on his rear-end was burnt.

Sasuke had better take something back to the rest of the pack soon or else he could say goodbye to his chances of getting a better mission.

Like maybe attacking that village that Orochimaru had been plotting against for the last four weeks because that one of the farmers had hit him across the head with a hoe when they caught him stealing a chicken from the pen.

Sasuke yawned, showing his sharp canines to any woodland animals that happened to hop past.

One of Sasuke's ears twitched. Something was coming.

A slow smirk spread over his lips as he slowly rose to his feet, his onyx eyes glittering in anticipation.

About time, too.

* * *

Naruto kicked at a small pebble, watching it bounce along the dirt path before rolling to a stop. 

Damn that stuck-up little supercilious prat for giving the job to Kakashi. Damn Kakashi for bribing her with an all-you-can-eat ramen session at Ichiraku Ramen's to make her to take the job. And damn herself for being so easily subjugated when it came to ramen.

Now she had to walk through the middle of nowhere with a godforsaken basket to a godforsaken cottage in a godforsaken forest.

She shifted the heavy basket from one hand to the other and cursed Kakashi for the umpteenth time for landing her with this job.

What was in the hamper anyway? How much rice balls could this old woman eat?

Naruto's stomach grumbled. How long ago had breakfast been?

It wouldn't hurt if she had a look at what was in the hamper; after all, she was the one carrying it. There was probably so much food in there that no one would notice if just one dango went missing.

But she was sure that Kakashi would skin her alive if any of the items disappeared.

Naruto pouted and kicked the pebble viciously, watching it fly off the track and disappear into a bush.

"OW!"

Naruto froze. That did not sound like a squirrel.

Maybe that little girl was right. Monsters might really live in this forest.

Naruto looked around her at the towering trees, chewing her bottom lip nervously.

Perhaps it was just the eerie atmosphere, but shadows that she didn't notice before began to lengthen and take shapes of ghouls and trolls. Glowing red eyes peered out from behind trees and watched from the murky shadows. The thick canopy and the darkness pressed down, made her slightly claustrophobic.

Naruto clenched her sweaty palms and quickened her pace, nearly jumping out of her skin when a small woodland rabbit leaped out of a bush and hopped away.

Monsters don't eat people. She had heard tale of a girl who had lived alone in an empty castle with a monster for several weeks without getting eaten. But maybe the Beast had been fattening her up.

But monsters don't exist, right?

* * *

From behind the bush, Sasuke was rubbing his sore leg, inspecting the ugly bruise that was forming on his shin. Of all bushes that girl could aim at, it had to be his, didn't it? 

Now that he had lost his element of surprise, it would be a lot more difficult to steal that big basket off her.

Orochimaru wasn't going to be happy to see him if he returned back empty-handed again.

Sasuke sighed. Lady Fortune hated him. Either that or she was a feminist and would only stick up for girls.

"Monsters don't exist!" muttered the girl in a soft, unconvinced voice.

Sasuke snapped his head back up and observed the girl from behind the bush. She was a pretty thing (if you disregard the horrible orange dress that went down to her knees), with her blonde hair pulled into two pigtails, and wide cerulean eyes. A strange brown hat flopped over her head. And even better, she had a very large basket clasped in her right hand.

Sasuke grinned. She would be fun to toy with. He hadn't had the chance to 'play' for a while now, and, judging by her voice, she was already scared.

Sasuke slowly rose to his feet and stepped out of the bushes in front of her.

Right on cue, the girl stopped in her tracks.

He could smell her fear.

She was scared stiff.

This was going to be too easy.

* * *

Naruto started to tremble as a shadowy figure rose from the darkness. She could almost see the blood-red glow of his eyes hidden behind the raven-black bangs, and the elongated claws that were promising a ruthless death. A long tail swayed hypnotically behind him. The monster grinned savagely at her, revealing two rows of razor-sharp teeth. 

Slowly, almost mockingly, the thing came closer and closer, looming over her. Her breath caught in her chest and she broke into a cold sweat.

She couldn't move. She willed her legs to run, but they, like the rest of her body, were paralysed. Her bloodcurdling scream was trapped somewhere in the middle of her throat. She could hear her accelerated heartbeat pounding loudly in her ears.

But monsters weren't supposed to exist.

"_Hello little girl," _crooned the beast in a deep, throaty voice, displaying his pointed fangs.

"_Where are you going today?"_

Her mouth flapped open, then closed, then open again, but nothing came out. She stared at the approaching monster with wide, unblinking eyes.

"_What have you got there in your basket?"_

That woke Naruto up from her fear-induced trance.

"Wh-wh-who ar-are yo-yo-you?"

* * *

Sasuke leered at her. 

It was brilliant. She was absolutely petrified. Her eyes were wide with panic and her pupils were dilated. Her heartbeat had quickened and her breathing was irregular.

"_I am the Wolf."_

He stalked forward, each slow, exaggerated step taking him closer and closer to the stiff, immobile girl.

Just a few more steps and he'd be close enough to shove her to the ground, snatch the basket and make an easy escape into the forest. The shrubbery was so thick there was no chance that a little inexperienced brat like her could follow him through it.

It was going along perfectly. Orochimaru was going to be pleased. In fact, at this rate, Sasuke could even expect a promotion.

Sasuke could smell the onigiri hidden in the basket. Inner Sasuke did a triumphant jig in the deepest, most secluded part of his mind.

Closer, and closer … he could almost reach out his hand and grab her.

But, too preoccupied in his task of intimidating his prey, Sasuke failed to notice the waiting pebble that was lying innocently in his path.

And, as Murphy's Law decreed it, to his utmost horror -

He tripped.

* * *

Almost in slow motion, the beast staggered forwards, his arms flailing wildly for balance.

Naruto watched in inert, horrified disbelief as his body crashed into hers, and the two of them tumbled painfully onto the dirt ground, and, in midst of the disaster, his lips collided onto hers.

For a prolonged, confused moment, neither of them moved, too dumbstruck to fully comprehend their predicament.

That's when her instincts kicked in and she realised how close they were.

Too close.

In fact, lip-to-lip too close.

Using a brutal strength that she reserved only for perverts - and she had encountered many of them when she was delivering a parcel to the more derelict and licentious parts of town - Naruto shoved the beast off with a scandalised yelp and quickly scrambled backwards, trying to put as much distance between the two of them as possible.

What was he, some sort of kidnapper? A perverted rapist? A child molester? A sex-starved monster that preyed on naïve little girls that walked through the woods to satiate his bottomless appetite?

Naruto grew more and more hysterical with each thought. That would explain those leers that he had been giving her.

The dazed monster rolled onto his side, facing Naruto's direction, swearing and muttering under his breath.

Naruto's eyes widened. Rather than a hideous monster, the beast looked more human than she had expected.

Pale porcelain skin contrasted against ebony-black hair and dark obsidian eyes. Two small lupine ears peeped out either side of his head, and a long, bushy tail stuck out of the seat of his white slacks.

A little voice in the back of her head, that disgustedly reminded her of Sakura and Ino, slyly commented that he was rather cute, which she immediately gagged and tied up.

Naruto clambered to her feet unsteadily and picked up the fallen basket and a nearby tree branch.

Shaking with revulsion and fury, though more of the latter, she turned around to see the kemonomimi try to get up.

"Damn you!" Naruto shrieked shrilly, kicking his prostrate body angrily before he could rise. He hit the ground again with a grunt. "That was my first kiss, you bastard!"

Naruto was livid. That _creep_ had just popped out of nowhere, tried to _scare _the crap out of her (there was no way she was admitting that she actually was frightened) and _shoved_ her to the ground and stole her _first kiss_!

Forget about his unnatural lupine features that would have had raised immediate suspicions about his anthropomorphic genealogy or his lycanthropy abilities; that bastard was going to pay.

Naruto moved closer towards the now-standing werewolf until they stood nose-to-nose. He was half a head taller than her. Her blue eyes flashed dangerously and she smiled sweetly. She uplifted her face and leaned closer.

His eyes widened and she could hear his breath catch at their close proximity.

And, without warning or hesitation, Naruto bent her leg and kneed him in the groin.

* * *

Sasuke eyes widened as he doubled over in pain, the lower half of his body throbbing excruciatingly. 

Oh gawd … of all people that could have had walked along this path, why did it have to be a hell-sent she-cat?

"What the hell was that for, you bitch?" he roared at the blonde, both hands over his crotch.

"That was for stealing my first kiss, teme!" she screeched back at him, equally loud.

"It wasn't my fault that I tripped!"

"Was it _my_ fault then!"

"Yes! I mean, no! Wait - put that stick down!"

"What do you mean it was all my fault? You were the one that was stalking me!"

"I wasn't stal - ow! Hey! Stop that!"

"Stop what, you bastard? Take that! And that!"

"Ow! Ow! Wait! No, no no no no no … not there agai - ARGH!"

* * *

Naruto pushed past the cringing werewolf and strode away, steam still pouring out of her ears. 

She was furious.

No, she was more than furious.

She was outraged. Piqued. Antagonized. Wrathful.

She was peeved, and just making sure that the stupid lycanthrope couldn't have any more quadruped children wasn't enough to satisfy her hunger for vengeance.

If it weren't for the fact that she had to deliver this hamper as soon as possible, then Naruto was well prepared to castrate the prick.

She had better not meet the bastard again - for his sake.

**

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A/N: **

**Kemonomimi **- (Japanese) characters with animal features such as ears and a tails, but have a human body (eg. Inuyasha ... and wolf!Sasuke)

**Anthropomorphic **- human characteristics for animals.

**Lycanthropy **- (folklore) the magical ability of a person to assume the characteristics of a wolf , or become a werewolf.

**Lycanthrope **- .. A werewolf, I suppose.

I saw this awesome fanart of girl!Naruto and wolf!Sasuke ... and that was when the plot bunny kindly paid me a visit … besides, I had wanted to write a Naruto fanfic for so long …

I initially wanted to make this a SasuNaru(ko) one-shot … but Naruto turned out too OOC and she wouldn't stop bashing up Sasuke … in fact, everyone turned out too OOC.

Arigato for reading.


End file.
